originalsmoothie

No. Just entitled to an opinion., just like you.

The recent shared ownership boaters I mentioned where on their way from their moorings, not back to them.

I never complain about the coal boat's movements, or about anyone else with a valid reason to move through ice. The local coal boat cruised past yesterday. Good luck to the guy. He does a great job. I've noticed that many of the ice breakers are crews on shared ownership boats. They don't have to move but want to because it's their turn for a cruise.

And the deep joy of hearing a boat smashing through the ice towards you when you've sensibly decided to stop on your mooring to protect your hull paint. The ice on my mooring is at least an inch thick but I can hear it creaking and groaning as a boater a few hundred metres away smashes his way along the canal.

Funny you should mention getting frozen in. I wrote that and I am frozen in at the moment and have been for the last six days. It's all about planning though. I have shops nearby, enough coal to last another two weeks, and gas and water for another month. I think I'll survive!

Thanks for that, Alan. I think I remember seeing your boats and wondering how on Earth you managed to get off your mooring.

I cruised that way in May when I dropped down onto the Nene. I struggled with the depth in the wooded cutting south of Weedon and on the Northampton flight. Given that there has been little rain since I passed through at the beginning of May, I'm a little nervous about the return leg at the end of this month. My boat draught is 36". I'm looking for information from boaters with similar draughts who have negotiated this route recently. Thanks in advance.

It's been a good experience, one that has left me feeling far more positive about urban cruising than I have been in the past. Camp Hill was disgusting when I passed through in 2015. I stopped four times on the flight to clear my prop. The locks and the pounds between them were a sea of plastic and clothing. This time there was little sign of rubbish and the facilities block at the head of the flight is one of the most pleasant I have had the pleasure to visit. I look forward to returning.

Yes, the OP made it down Farmer's Bridge and moored at Aston University for the night. I did the Ashted and Camp Hill flights today and got as far as Catherine-de-Barnes. There was a little ice on the Ashted flight and then nothing until the top of Camp Hill. There was ice pretty much continuously until Catherine-de-Barnes, up to 1.5 inches in a few places. The pressure's off now so I'll stay here for a couple of days while the ice thaws. Thanks again for all the advice.

Thank you for all your advice. I got as far as Smethwick locks before dusk. Someone had gone before me on the Old Main Line but the ice had begun to freeze again. It was half an inch thick for much of the route, but not too bad. If the temperature doesn't drop too much tonight I should be OK for Farmers Bridge flight tomorrow. Thank you for the alternative route suggestion if I miss it. This forum has come up trumps again.

I know that. I’m trying to avoid the ridiculous cost of crane hire!

I fought my way up the Wolverhampton 21 through ice and low water yesterday. I'm now on the visitor moorings at the top of the flight in a sea of ice. I need to get through the Farmer's Bridge flight before they close on 4th Feb. Given the forecast for the next few days, that's going to be a bit of a challenge. I have to get to Napton Junction ASAP. If I can't get through Farmer's Bridge, the route south is closed to me until March. The only alternative will be to have the boat transported by road. The Wolverhampton 21 is also due to close on 4th Feb so will block my escape from Wolverhampton. Are there any boatyard's able to lift a 62' narrowboat out in the Wolverhampton/Birmingham area? I look forward to your usual helpful replies.

That is NOT good. I can't get through Harecastle Tunnel until 2nd January so, unless I can fit 50 hours cruising into the day I'm knackered. I didn't think of looking at the Keepers Lock restrictions given that it is past the junction. I guess another call to CRT is in order tomorrow before I hit Barbridge junction.

Thanks for all the useful advice. The Fradley locks closure appears to have been pushed back to mid-February, so it's going to be Shroppie, T & M, Coventry, Oxford and GU in, I hope, seven first light to last light cruising days. Bring it on!

Correct. It's livingonanarrowboat.co.uk. I've been writing occasional posts for it over the last two years, but about the Dutch waterways rather than the (much better) English canals. Stepping onto a narrowboat again felt like coming home.

My wife, Cynthia, will be with me. However, she is a little fragile at the moment so I will be single handed.

I will be working on the grounds for Calcutt. I worked there from 2010 until 2016 when I left to potter around Europe for a bit. Now I'm very happy to be back on the cut.

I will be setting off tomorrow morning from Tattenhall marina to Calcutt Boats near Napton Junction. I hope to do the journey in a week. I wanted to go via the Trent & Mersey but I understand the stoppage at Fradley Junction will prevent me from getting onto the Coventry canal. If I can't go that way I will have to go down the Shroppie. I am a little nervous for two reasons. Firstly, my new boat is three feet deep. I understand that there is a section of the Shroppie where the canal goes through a rock cutting which is problematic for deep draughted boats. I've done the route without a problem in a boat with a 30" draught. Do you know the cutting in question? If so, where is it and is it going to be a problem for a boat with a 3' draught? Secondly, I am not a fan of city cruising. What is the best route through Birmingham, Wolverhampton etc to avoid rubbish filled water and potential overnight mooring problems with single digit IQ towpath users?

You're very welcome. Good look with your plans.

I know one lady who does technical writing. She's South African and works for a company in Johannesburg. They don't care where she is in the world as long as she gets the work done. The eBay sellers use fulfilment companies so they don't have to handle products at all. They pick products which are popular and which can be drop shipped. They aren't keen to talk about the actual products for fear of competition. I'm not on the English inland waterways network at the moment. I sold my narrowboat last October due to problems importing my American wife. We're on the Dutch waterways network now. While I was on the English canals, I made a pretty good living via the internet. I wrote and sold several boating guides and, on the back of those, I had plenty of customers for experience and helmsmanship training days I offered on my boat. I was free to cruise for six or seven week blocks and then returned to my base to run a dozen back to back training days. Getting the business started was hard work. In addition to my forty five hour a week day job at a marina, I spent thirty to forty hours a week for several years building a subscriber list and adding content to my site. Eventually, I earned enough from my site and from my experience days to leave my marina job and cruise full time. The hard work and long hours were worth it. As you are only exploring possibilities at the moment, if you're serious about making a lifestyle change, you could set up something online around your English teaching. Getting to a level of income which will support you may take a number of years, but what have you got to lose?

I know quite a few boaters who make a living from the comfort of their own boats. They all work in fields where they can digitise their work. They are writers, technical authors, eBay sellers and IT wizards and programmers. They do well, but they are the happy few. I'm afraid that there isn't a simple solution to earning a crust from the comfort of your own boat. Those who have found a lucrative online niche tend to keep the details to themselves. Your expertise is in English. Yes, there are many people offering the service online, but the fact that there are so many of them doing it is an indication that there is a market for you to tap into. As with any business, finding and keeping customers is the hardest part. Explore the avenues open to you before you even think about moving afloat, especially if your floating lifestyle is dependant on your boating income. Identify anyone who is already successful in their field and look at their business model. Email them and ask for advice. Some may not want to give advice for fear of competition, but you'll be surprised how many will be willing to help. You'll have to work very hard to make your dream a reality. Many live aboard boaters are confined to particular geographic areas because of work commitments. Because of that, they have to consider their mooring options and the likelihood of trying to find a decent residential mooring. If you crack the difficult work from boat nut, you will be free to explore the network at leisure. That, to me, is worth burning the candle at both ends for a while.

Although I'm based in the Midlands I offer exactly what you need. There's an excellent canal-side B & B ten minutes' walk along the towpath to where I start the day. It's a ten hour day on my own 62' trad stern narrowboat. It's a combined helmsmanship training and discovery day. The days consists of a seven, hour twelve mile, six lock cruise with you at the helm. Before we set off we do a walk through of my boat discussing the pros and cons of boat design and configuration and equipment options. You can find out more about the day here and what past guests think of my service here.

Thanks for that Alan. I think everyone's in agreement on your last point. I'm in the middle of working on some drastically revised copy as we speak (although I'm getting a bit of stick for working on it today though. I can't understand why). The new copy will include video of both me and my boat.

Apology accepted. Thank you. I hope you have a wonderful day today.

Every WEEK Col!